US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Close Mixed, Nasdaq Closes at All-time Highs

US stocks were mixed on Tuesday with the Dow heading south and the Nasdaq notching up a fresh all-time high. This was the first down day for the Dow Industrials in the last 7-sessions. The Nasdaq composite briefly exceeded 10K for the first time in history, driven by strong gains in Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. The large-cap tech stocks hit the cover off the ball, as investors moved back into growth stocks.

Apple and Amazon shares surged to all-time highs helping the tech-heavy Nasdaq gain traction. Apple announced that it would start to use its chips in the next release of the MAC computer which will allow the company to reduce costs. Long-term unemployment remains stable despite a large uptick in US short term unemployment. All sectors in the S&P 500 index were lower, led down by energy and cyclicals. The VIX volatility index rebounded back above the 27% level, bouncing off the 200-day moving average which it has yet to slide below.

Oil prices rebounded from session lows and close up 1.4%. With Texas reporting two consecutive days of record coronavirus hospitalizations weeks after reopening, the US oil industry could face mass sickness just as demand in the United States starts to heat up. Oil prices have rebounded from negative territory back to the $40 level, ahead of Wednesday inventory report from the Energy Information Administration.

Long Term Unemployment Remains Stable

The Labor Department reported that the number of Americans unemployed for more than 27 weeks economists’ general benchmark for long-term joblessness has held steady since the start of the year, at about 1.2 million people. Shorter-term unemployment, on the other hand, has skyrocketed, rising to 13.3% for May after rising above 14% in April.